In the midst of life--

'How we deal with death can be very important for the way we live.' This challenging conviction is the cornerstone to a thoroughly useful, authoritative and compassionate book. In exploring Australian responses to death, it contributes to the growing interest in what such responses reveal about our society - and how we might deal better with death as a part of life. To understand today's practices and attitudes we must go back - to mourning customs, funeral and burial arrangements since the First Fleet; to descriptions of elaborate Victorian etiquette; to the personal histories recorded on gravestones; to vehement debates for and against cremation. The story makes fascinating reading. The authors use this social history in order to look squarely at the questions we still shy away from. What is grief? How can we help ourselves and others through it? What are the practical decisions to be made when a relative or friend dies? What choices do we have? Are the rituals of churches, funeral parlours, cemeteries and crematoria flexible enough to meet our endlessly varied needs? These questions confront us all at some time.